A mysterious landing at Heston Airport a decade after it closed continues to baffle an amateur historian half a century later - and now he needs your help.

Lawrence Hole was a teenager when he spotted a monoplane touching down at the long-abandoned runway beside Berkeley Primary School in the late 50s.

Despite peddling furiously from his home in Meadow Way, he arrived to see the aircraft being towed into a hangar and never unravelled the mystery.

The 69-year-old retired travel operator is now appealing to readers to help fill in the gaps as he compiles a history of the once mighty airport.

"Heston was a very busy airport and even after it closed it was used for some events like the BOC Sports Festival in 1951," said Mr Hole, who studied at Berkeley Primary and Isleworth Grammar schools and was a member of 2nd Heston Scouts.

"I know it was used as a US radar base well into the 50s but I can't find any reference to this landing."

Heston Airport was a market garden until 1928, when private pilots Sir Nigel Norman and Alan Muntz decided the flat, fog-free site was the perfect place to keep their planes.

Large hangars along Cranford Lane acted as shop windows for wealthy flying enthusiasts and the airfield quickly grew, hosting the prestigious King's Cup Air Race in 1931.

By the late 30s, Heston was second only to Croydon in the battle to be London's busiest airport and the Government planned to make it a major international hub, buying the aerodrome and surrounding land.

In 1938, Neville Chamberlain made his famous 'peace in our time' speech at Heston after meeting Hitler in Munich (pictured).

Within a year war was declared and Spitfires, Hurricanes and, later, US bombers began flying out on missions.

By the time peace was declared for real, Heathrow had usurped Heston and the airport closed unannounced in 1947, though flying continued for a while afterwards.

The airfield was severed by the M4 in the 60s and is now home to a mixture of housing estates and factories, with street names like Brabazon and Bleriot roads the only clues to its past.

Anyone with information is asked to call Mr Hole on 01372 452 769, email: lawrencehole@talktalk.net or click here to send us your stories.